1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a meter apparatus loaded on a vehicle or the like.
2. Background Art
In this kind of meter apparatus loaded on a vehicle or the like, a dedicated light source at a rear side illuminates a text panel in which letters, numbers and markings are installed, or illuminates an indicator which indicates a letter, a number or the like in the text panel (for example, see Japanese Patent No. 3291732).
In other words, the meter apparatus is an indicative instrument useful as a speedometer of a vehicle, and as shown in FIG. 16, a motor case 102 is mounted between a print substrate 101 and a text panel 107, and a rotary shaft 106 made of a hollow shaft is supported to shaft support portions 104 and 105 of the motor case 102. An indicator shaft 110 integrated with an indicator 109 is mounted to the rotary shaft 106, and the indicator 109 is rotated by means of the rotary shaft 106 by a motor, not shown, provided to the motor case 102. In addition, an LED 111 serving as a light source is disposed in the rotary shaft 106. The LED 111 is fixed to the print substrate 101 and configured to emit illuminating light toward a light receiving surface 109A of the indicator 109, and the illuminating light incident to the indicator 109 is reflected on a reflective surface 109B and then illuminates the indicator 109. In addition, in the meter apparatus, in order to illuminate the text panel 107, though not shown in the figures, a plurality of dedicated light sources are separately disposed at a lower side of the text panel 107.
In addition, as such a meter apparatus, it is known in the art to enhance the light emitting efficiency of the indicator (for example, see PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 2009-537844).
In other words, the meter apparatus includes, as shown in FIG. 17, a motor case 201, an indicator 202 guided by a protrusive portion 201A used as a bearing provided to a main body of the motor case 201, a light source 205 composed of an LED and disposed right below a hollow shaft 204 while being away by a distance H from the lower end portion 203A of the indicator shaft 203 provided to a base portion of the indicator 202, and a print substrate 206 to which the light source 205 is mounted.
In the meter apparatus, the indicator shaft 203 of the indicator 202 has a light collecting surface having a convex surface at the lower end portion 203A in order to optimally collect the illuminating light emitted from the light source 205 in a better way. In addition, in the indicator 202, the indicator shaft 203 has a cylindrical shape, and the lower end portion 203A preferably has a hemispherical or convex shape, but also may have other shapes. Such specific shapes allow the emission of light by the light source 205 composed of LED to be maintained focused in parallel to the axis of the indicator shaft 203. In addition, even in the meter apparatus, similar to the above meter apparatus, a plurality of dedicated light sources, not shown, are disposed below a text panel, not shown, to illuminate the text panel.
In such a meter apparatus, since an optical axis of the light source is set on the indicator shaft, the light from the light source may be effectively transferred to the indicator to illuminate the indicator, and in particular, regardless of in which direction the indicator is oriented, there is no particular problem since light unevenness is restrained.
However, in such a meter apparatus, since the light source is installed at the center portion of the text panel which is the center of rotation of the indicator, it is physically impossible to newly install a light source for illuminating the text panel, for example, right below the center of the text panel, separately from the above light source, and to transfer the light from the light source to the text panel in order to illuminate the text panel. From this point of view, in order to illuminate the text panel as uniformly as possible, as described above, separately from the light source for illuminating the indicator, a plurality of dedicated light sources should be installed at suitable intervals below the text panel, which increases costs.